This week on the “Life. Unrestricted.” podcast, I get to talk to Zoe McNulty from London, UK.

Zoe had always dreamed of being a backing dancer on Top Of The Pops, but due to her being larger than a dancer “SHOULD” be, she avoided the commercial dance scene and the negative body image that she would – as she says – undoubtedly have developed. However, with the pressures of a thin-obsessed society, she still struggled with her body through much of her adult life, until she realized how much time she had wasted worrying about what others might think of her. These days, Zoe refers to herself as a champion of curves, and is honored to be an official Body Image Movement Global Ambassador, just like myself. Zoe works as a Top Dance Fitness Presenter, Group Exercise Teacher and Body Positivity Activist and calls herself “Headmistress of School of Strut”. She specializes in helping women feel good about their figures, regardless of shape or size, through fund and feisty dance concepts.
Today, you’ll hear Zoe talk about:
– How she grew up to feel self-conscious about her body and her weight
– What kind of body image role-model her mother was
– How her dream of becoming a dancer got destroyed by arbitrary beauty-ideals
– Why it is crucial to recognize that many women actually get the most “compliments” when they are actually sick, compulsive and highly disordered eaters
– How she experienced her own changes in body size
– What is wrong with the gym-culture and the fitness-ideas of today
– How the current “go hard or go home”-paradigm is harmful for girls and women
– How women and girls are led to disconnect from their own sensuality and femininity
– Why those super-toned body ideals mean “becoming sick” for most women and girls
– How health has absolutely nothing to do with those ideals
– At what point she hit rock bottom and decided “no more of this dieting crap”
– Why it is so important to realize that – no matter what size or shape we are – we will never be for everybody
– When she realized that it was not her size or weight that made her attractive
– What helped her in growing her internal confidence about who she was, including her size
– What the idea is behind “Strutology” and “School of Strut”
– Why “strutting” is more about a state of mind than anything else
– How we can become self-confident and feel sexy without contributing to the objectification of women
– What kind of feedback she gets from women who have been to her classes
– What she means when she says “harness the power of the wobble”
– What her advice is for ALL women…

Make sure to join my tribe and meet some of the most supportive, loving and kind people of all shapes and sizes, including great coaches and leaders! We’re right over here at: http://www.lifeunrestricted.org/join/